DAR releases masterlist of Luisita farmer-beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - The Department of Agrarian Reform on Wednesday released the names of 6,212 Hacienda Luisita farmers who would benefit from land redistribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes headed the posting of the masterlist among the barangays included in the estate, namely Barangays Cut-Cut 1, Bantog, Balete, Asturias, Lourdes and Mapalacsiao in Tarlac City; Parang, Pando and Mabilog in Concepcion and Barangay Motrico in La Paz.

“The Final Master List is the result of the rigorous and tedious process of identification and validation,” he said.

He said the process also involved information drives, interviews and processing of interview sheets.

The department also evaluated the list submitted by Hacienda Luisita, Inc. to the Supreme Court, a list of the farmers who participated in the 1989 stock distribution option proceedings and documents from the Social Security System.

He said the 6,435-hectare sugarcane plantation owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III would be divided among beneficiaries after excluding the areas covering roads and canals.

“The CARP—covered land of the Hacienda would then be subdivided into 6,212 lots after subtracting the areas of parcels of land holding common facilities such as roads and irrigation canals among others,” he said.

Delos Reyes said the agency is aiming to complete the redistribution of the parcels of land by May or June this year, in line with its self-imposed deadline.